


Crashing

by midnightjingle



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26072764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightjingle/pseuds/midnightjingle
Summary: On moving to a new city where you don't know a soul.
Relationships: Fluttershy & Rarity (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
Kudos: 2





	Crashing

Not many ponies can stick it out in the wilderness.

This filly had read plenty of survival manuals. She knew  _ how _ to do everything - start a fire, cook berries, even find a few animal companions - but she was positively miserable. Almost as miserable as she had been back home.

For a moment, she contemplated going home. Her parents probably wouldn’t be too mad at her. After all, if you're missing - possibly dead - foal knocked on your door, you’d be too relieved to ask them where they were, right?

As the filly laid in the grass, contemplating home, she noticed something. Things were quiet. All her friends had run away. She’d read in her Filly Guide Guidebook that this could mean a few things - namely, a storm.

The filly set off to the first place she could think of - the cottage by the stream. She’d checked it out a few times before - it was well furnished, but empty. Abandoned, but always cleaned since her last visit. This would point to it being  _ owned _ by somepony, but she would rather trespass than catch pneumonia.

It took her only a minute or two to run to the cottage, but she was still winded by it. With her last ounce of breath, she opened the front door, slammed it shut, and collapsed on the ground.

It took her a minute to take in her surroundings. The living room was illuminated by candles. She knew she didn’t light them, and her conscientious “housemates” certainly wouldn’t leave them on. This meant one thing - she wasn’t alone/

She scanned the room, looking for other signs of life. A book was on the floor, a basket was on the coffee table, and a filly was on the sofa.

_ A filly?  _ A unicorn, too - with her hair in huge curls and diamonds on her flank. She came from  _ money _ . If she wanted to, she could send someone away - maybe forever.

Another glance gave the filly even worse news: this unicorn was  _ terrified _ . She could probably let off a magic missile without even realizing it. She probably wouldn’t even be punished for it - this county seemed like the kind to have a  _ strong  _ castle doctrine.

A rationally thinking pony would start running at this point (after all, the castle doctrine doesn’t allow you to be shot in the back.) However, a panicked pony might do something to make themself an easier target, like curling up in a ball on the floor.

The filly muttered every curse word her young brain knew. How do you tell someone that you accidentally invaded their home? How do you convince them you’re not a threat, you’re actually really, really,  _ really _

“SHY!”   
  
“That’s a rather odd name for a colt.”

“what?”

“Shy. It seems more fillyish - not to offend, of course.”

The filly had been looking for a new name for a while, and this seemed as good as any.

‘Shy’ only had one correction, that “actually, I’m not a -”

“You look like you could use some tea. Give me a moment…”

“wait…”

“What is it, darling?”

“you’re not gonna shoot me? or call the sheriff?”

The unicorn looked more shocked than before. “Heavens no… You couldn’t hurt a fly.”

‘Shy’ was a bit offended, but showing that outwardly would risk her first cup of tea in nearly a month.

“The name’s Rarity, by the by. Nice to meet you.”

\---

Understanding Shy’s situation requires a quick explanation of Equestrian law.

Equestria is divided into many different localities, each of them either self-governing (Ponyville), government by the crown (i.e. Canterlot), or “ungoverned” (i.e. the Everfree Forest). Each of these principalities is allowed its own set of laws, and they enforce their own laws.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t laws that apply across Equestria, but these are usually limited to the likes of treason or murdering an important politician. Past that, any criminal in a self-governing locale is caught, prosecuted, and punished by that locale.

Shy is the subject of a “missing pony” case, currently being investigated by the Cloudsdale Constabulary. The Constabulary doesn’t know where Shy is, or that she’s ran away; as far as they know, she fell off a cloud and died[1], or was kidnapped.

It is very, very hard to investigate a missing pony when you only operate in one city. Informing other locales to watch out for a certain pony takes time and uses up other’s resources (if they listen at all.)[2]

To put it simply: nopony in Ponyville is looking for Shy. At least, not yet.

[1] This happens more often than you’d think, but not often enough to install railing.

[2] Fillydelphia P.D. are notoriously bad about this. Getting an extradition out of Fillydelphia is harder than getting a needle out of a haybale.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> It's a short first chapter, sorry. I was gonna write a longer one, but my brain has been mad at me the past week.


End file.
